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Definition of farm attacks Some stats on farm attacks & farm murders Comparing real figures with ratios Who are the victims? Brief history of rural safety since the late-90’s The Rural Protection Plan (RPP) The National Rural Safety Strategy (NRSS) Conclusion Presentation Outline

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Definition of ‘farm attack’ Attacks on farms and smallholdings [Acts of violence against persons on] refer to acts aimed at the person of residents, workers and visitors to farms and smallholdings, whether with the intent to murder, rape, rob or inflict bodily harm. In addition, all actions aimed at [all acts of violence against the infra-structure and property in the rural community aimed at] disrupting farming activities as a commercial concern, whether for motives related to ideology, labour disputes, land issues, revenge, grievances, racist concerns or intimidation, should be included. [Cases related to domestic violence or liquor abuse, or resulting from commonplace social interaction between people are excluded from the definition]

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Rural safety: Brief history of changing priorities 1997 – Calls by organised agriculture – Govt instructs NOCOC to develop a strategy to improve safety on farms & smallholdings October 1997 - Rural Protection Plan (RPP) implemented October 1998 – Pres Mandela convenes Rural Safety Summit to ‘deal with rural safety in general and farm attacks in particular’. 1999/2000 – NOCOC/JOINTS establishes Priority Committee on Rural Safety to manage RPP and related issues April 2001 – Appointment of Committee of Inquiry into farm attacks (Report published July 2003) Feb 2003 – Pres Mbeki – announces in parliament the ‘phasing out’ of the commandos and the creation in their place of ‘a new system whose composition and ethos accord with the require- ments of all rural communities’

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Conclusion Farmers are disproportionally targeted for attacks compared to other groups and South Africans in general Current strategic approach to rural security is too broad & general and not focused on the actual threat (i.e. attacks on farms and the murder of farmers and persons on farms and not rural crime in general) Overarching strategies such as the National Crime Combating Strategy and the National Rural Safety Strategy are inadequate for specific threats such as farm attacks & farm murders Farm attacks & farm murders should be recognised as a national crisis and addressing it should again become a national priority requiring a focused strategic approach